no title
by Shonte
Summary: The Fellowship meets Thanga.


How peculiar four hobbits, a dwarf, an elf, and a man together must have looked following Aragorn's lead through the land of Lothlorien. He was swiftly running through the golden leaves and the rest of the party could only hope to catch up sooner or later. Legolas often stopped to admire a great tree here and there or a clump of pale flowers that seemed to sparkle in the sunlight. Gimli's many complaints of the extra effort to keep up were often heard.  
  
'Are you sure that this cut to the River is short, Aragorn?' asked Merry who easily became tired with anything incessant.  
  
'Yes, I am sure, little hobbit. I guarantee that this is the quickest way to our destination. Be joyful to be out of Moria.'  
  
This was hard to do when the one who held all knowledge of the road ahead had fallen into darkness so soon before. All was silent again as the quest continued on.  
  
They all soon came to an open space in the woods surrounded by trees of great size on all sides.  
  
'Let's please have a rest now. It has been a while since we have last etten and I feel like I cannot carry on.'  
  
'Very well, Samwise,' said Aragorn. 'We shall-' Aragorn could not get his declaration out before the Elf exclaimed :  
  
'Look! There is a battle on ahead!'  
  
Sure enough Aragorn looked up and he saw two forms in the distance, one on a horse, having a fierce fight of the swords that was fated to end in the death of one. A cry was heard that shattered the enchantment surrounding them. Frodo was too weary to look up, but when he heard Aragorn scream 'Let's go!' he was left with no choice but to carry his body further.   
  
Closer, they could see that both of the persons were badly beaten and bloody. The horse reared up wildly and its rider flew off to the ground with a cruel thud. Miraculously, it immediately regained itself, swept its sword from the ground, and rolled out of the way just in time to not be stabbed through the heart by its enemy.  
  
There was a gurgled grunt as the fallen stood on its feet, ready for battle. It swung back a mass of filthy hair from its eyes to see more clearly. Frodo gasped to see that the fallen rider was indeed a woman. She took a battle stance, swung her sword at her feet in preparation, and her arms moved as if they were choreographed to battle. Her feet moved her quickly away from her attacker's sword and right back to him to attack. She swung back her long hair again to attempt an attack. A grimace was painted on her face and fire shown behind her eyes crazily as she fearlessly swung her sword in a large arc over her head and thrust it into the abdomen of her enemy. He let forth a blood-curdling scream. The death-blow had taken him suddenly and he fell to the ground.  
  
The woman swung up her blood-darkened sword so that it was pointed upward. She brought the edge of the blade to her face and balanced the tip of the weapon and its base with her hands. Her eyes closed and she slowly passed her tongue over the blood along the length of the sword, seeming to savor it. She then spit it out and began to laugh as she put her sword back in its sheath. This was no ordinary woman, but a skilled warrior as well!  
  
There was silence for a while as no one dared to speak. The lady, who was recognized as an elf mounted her horse again and looked around at her surroundings, ignoring the surprised persons below her. She began to turn and ride off into the fast approaching night, but Aragorn finally decided to speak first.  
  
'My....lady, unfamiliar, will you let your name be known to us and your business here so that we may know of you and your intentions? May I offer any relief to your wounds? You look unable to ride' he said very coarsely.  
  
The woman looked at Aragorn with a cold stare of annoyance before she spoke. Her voice was that of heavy rain drops falling into stagnant water.   
  
'I am, or perhaps I will be to you, Thanga. My sword is my servant. You need not know my business or intentions here. And as for my wounds, I am well able to ride. You need not help me. Excuse me as I return to my home.' Aragorn then spoke with much more kindness in his deep voice.  
  
'Where is the land of your people, if you do not mind my asking, Thanga?' asked Aragorn.  
  
'Past the Great River in the Brown Lands. I am on my way there.'  
  
'So are we. You should rest here and receive relief from your battle and continue in the morning.' There was silence from her. 'I am only attempting to give you advice to do yourself kindly. You may resemble a woman after a break.'  
  
'Thanga smiled barely. 'Perhaps.'  
  
So there the nine rested until morning. No on noticed Legolas leave in the night for the Lord and Lady.  
  
*************************************************************************************  
  
Cheniece Shonte' Smith is such a loser that she is sitting in front of the computer typing mean things about herself. There's nothing else to do. She doesn't have a gorgeous druggie boyfriend who calls and asks if she wants to smoke with him and some friends after school. Nope. She comes 'home' to a bunch of alien feelings that tear her up on the inside like some disease fed by a bunch of shit that she can't control. She does her homework if she is awake long enough to and watches television if something good is playing. If not, she reads Lord of the Rings and tries to enlighten the shit-for brains family on how great the novel is. She mopes a little and goes to bed to appease her mom's interrogations of 'Do you need any medicine?' and listens to a little TrustCompany. She loves that song, track number five. 'You said-hold on, but I feel like I'm slipping away'...Those lyrics sound like they jumped out of her journal pages or her brain maybe because she feels like she is holding on for all of this stuff that she will never have....Now if she could realize that.......then she would have nothing to hold on to, right? She would just die maybe. Hah. She always knew that ignorance was her best friend. It's keeping her alive to finish this goddamn sentence. 


End file.
